Trust me, we've seen many people that don't get many things in many different enterprises, regardless of size. IT staff is, more often than not, very guilty of "not getting" the business and its true goals. For example, the very notion of investing to roll out, build out, and support ITIL frameworks, tools, roles, etc. is all the opposite of what the business goals are, which is to eliminate any and all things that have nothing to do with their Core business competencies.

many thanks for picking up on my signature and taking the time to reply..

my pondering started a few months ago after my site (and business) had been up for about 6 months. Initialy it was set up as a bit of an experiment to see if their was a merket for ITIL/Service Management/Consultancy in the SME sector, as well as creating an opportunity for me to put my ITIL ramblings and views out on the web to be discussed/debated etc with my peers. As I am fortunate to be employed full time in a job that I love (service support manager for a large UK food retailer) this is really a side line to help me keep my mind sharp.

My pondering came from the fact that no matter how I marketed the offering (right down to making the inital healthcheck free), SME's just do not want to know. After 12 months, the level of enquiries is very low.

I have had various sources check out the website etc (and I have a few changes to make) but the majorty of hits are from ITIL people researching our area, not SME's looking for help.

This means that either:
1) thier is no market and SME's are just not interest
2) I have got my site completely wrong in terms of the offering and SME's are hitting it but leaving
3) I am not getting the listings in Google to attract SME's

The majority of hits from search engines definately point to ITIL people not SME's so I think I need to find a new way in, but even when I have done the legwork (and believe me I have) and actually visited some local SME's and introduced them to the service, they are just not interested

my gut feel at the moment is that point 1 above is the strongest and the ITIL is really destined to exist outside of the SME estate. My fear is that ITILv3 actualy strengthens this view point even further.

would appreciate your view on this

regards
Rob_________________Pondering the question:
Why dont small companies get it ??

- No interest at the Small enterprise level (not even aware of ITIL)
- No interest at the Intermediate enterprise level (not even aware of ITIL)
- Little (but growing interest) at the Medium enterprise level

Here is my assessment on this, based on our own experience and the companies we deal with (ITIL customers, Vendors, Consultants, etc.). Please note that this is not to say that my view is right or wrong. It just happens to be my interpretation of what we're seeing...

1: Small and Intermediate sized enterprises have little to no need for dedicated IT. At that stage of maturity, most of what they need from IT is for consultants to come in and perform the "physical", hands-on work (Routing cables, connecting machines, fixing machines, installing SW, etc.). There is very little going on in the way of "Data Management, Information Management, Knowledge Management, and repeatable processes. If you think about it, there really is no need for it either. They can manage themselves fine with what's in their heads and what they write down in documents and spreadsheets.

2: In Medium sized companies, while the knowledge of ITIL is growing, IT organizations are still too small to have the available capacity to take on such things. It happens. However, it's more of the exception and not the rule.

Here's why I believe this happens. As an enterprise grows, IT starts to grow. At some point, IT gets so big that it becomes its own beast. The umbilical cord gets cut and they can survive as their own entity within an organization. In other words, they've attained enough power (usually because they've become such a large cost center) that they now have some leverage to push back, do things on their own, etc.

Remember something, when you peel the layers of the onion back, ITIL is not a good thing. It's a bad thing. It's a statement that says "IT is not clean, efficient, under control, etc. and you need to fix it." It's about taking out of control IT organizations and making them accountable for their actions.

Now, what most IT people don't want to admit (and trust me, I grew up in IT so I was like this for a long time too) is that IT, in an enterprise whose core business is not IT, is a very bad thing. It's a big expense that "drains" from revenue streams. If your business is Law and you make money by billing clients, IT sucks money from that stream. If your business is building automobiles and you make money be selling automobiles, IT sucks money from those revenue streams. Etc.

What you're seeing in the SME space is:

1: Most IT staff in SMEs haven't seen the big IT mess in big enterprises
2: Most IT staff in SMEs are still under far more control by their businesses they serve
3: Most IT staff in SMEs don't have the budgets to spend on "strategy", because the business drives strategy, not IT
4: Most IT staff in SMEs don't have time to even read up on ITIL, because staff in SME are doing everything, in multiple functional areas of their IT organization. In other words, only big companies tend to have the luxury of "dedicated roles". In SMEs, there's a much higher probability that one person wears more than one functional hat.

Remember, virtually no enterprise starts out thinking, "Let's build a controlled and strategic IT organization, as we grow." IT is always an afterthought. And, unless you're in the business of selling IT solutions, IT is almost never your core business.

Now, this doesn't mean that SMEs can't benefit from such things. They certainly can. However, how they benefit and what they need to do to get there are very different for SMEs than they are for larger enterprises. If you're waiting for them to become self aware and come looking for me and you, for help, don't hold your breath. You have to go to them and pitch a value proposition. To be successful, you will have to "sell" that value proposition and make them want what you have.

As for your three options:

Quote:

1: There is no market and SMEs are just not interested

There is a market. It's a needle in the haystack. You have to proactively go out and look for the needle in that haystack. The needle won't come to you.

Quote:

I have got my site completely wrong in terms of the offering and SMEs are hitting it but leaving.

You can embed scripts provided by Google's AdWords into your pages to track hits. However, there is always the chance that you are right, wrong or somewhere in the middle. Very few consultants I know get much, if any, work from their web sites.

Quote:

I am not getting the listings in Google to attract SMEs.

How you get the listings will come from things like SEO and AdWords campaigns. However, again, I wouldn't expect my web site to bring a lot of business. You really have to go out and look for your business opportunities. Most people just don't want to admit that effective sales is the key to making a business successful. The reality is that effective sales is truly the key.

many thanks for taking the time to type such a detailed response. It is encouraging to see someone from the community take such an interest.

Also I really appreciate your viewpoint and advice regarding building what is at present a company still in its infancy. I knew when I set off on this project that it was never going to make me rich! but if I can help a few companies and maybe pay for a skiing trip for my family each year, at the moment that will make me very happy!

I am fortunate that I have a full time job that I enjoy and an employer that allows me to persue this interest.

Rob_________________Pondering the question:
Why dont small companies get it ??

I definitely don't share Franck's view on ITIL anf IT's role in the business , even if the business is not IT, but that's not where I want to make the point here.

The main reason why companies don't get interested in ITIL , whatever their size is, is because everything they hear or read about ITIL does not talk about their main interest: their business!
ITIL is about IT supporting and helping the business strategy of the comapny (everything else, like process approach, optimizing activities, is a side effect , but not the core of ITIL).

I asked myself the same questions a couple of years ago and have found some answers (do not take them as a general rule...).
If you are able to show (and, better, value) some business benefits with ITIL , company managers will be interested with it, otherwise , they will not even let you finish your presentation....

What are ITIL's business benefits: anything that either create value or reduce costs for the company. As ITIL may represent some costs as well, the benefits must be higher than the costs...
My real belief is that, with the exception of big companies with big IT organizations, everything you do or plan to do in ITIL should be cost and value focused: there is no point in doing something wich adds to costs without creating a greater value!!!

So if you want to talk ITIL with small entrerprises, you have to:
1) learn their business
2) determine where ITIL can benefit their business
3) present where and how ITIL can benefit their business (and if not, why shoudl they bother about it?).

many thanks also for taking the time to reply ( I am not sure if the moderators would like to move this part of the thread as the debate about SME's seems to have hijacked the original point?) but like Frank you make some solid and valid comments although admitting that you have a different viewpoint I have been involved in other forums where such a declaration would start a heated debate, but none of that here I am please to say.

I was particularly interesed in your closing comments and your 3 numbered points, the key issue I have found is even trying to get that first foot in the door is a struggle. Maybe taking your points on board, my strategy should be to look at a specific market/sector and really get to understand it then target me efforts in a focused approach

regards and thanks again
Rob_________________Pondering the question:
Why dont small companies get it ??